


swelter

by orca_mandaeru



Category: NCT (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Devil Went Down to Georgia, Demons, Gen, Hell, M/M, Pre-Relationship
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-05-16
Updated: 2019-05-16
Packaged: 2020-03-06 12:25:58
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,473
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18851044
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orca_mandaeru/pseuds/orca_mandaeru
Summary: Yuta goes down to Georgia looking for a soul to steal and finds something unusual instead





	swelter

The heat isn't what Yuta’s used to. He's used to sizzling and crackling in the air, stinging your eyes and dancing across your skin. This is not that. 

 

This is damp, pressing through the layers of your skin until it drips down to curl into the very core of your person, every breath taking in slow and heavy the water-laden air. It almost feels more like hell than hell itself, and Yuta loves it. 

 

Hell is boring. He's not allowed into any of the exciting places, so all he does is wander around the dusty landscape and wish he had something to do. 

 

And of course that went wrong as well, because Ten, the King of Hell himself, strode down to Yuta's lonely domain, looked at him with those scary flat black eyes and said so sweetly, "So what have you been doing recently, Yuta?" 

 

He was a new demon, how was he supposed to know that he had to collect at least one soul a year?    
(He did, all new demons knew those basics, but the excuse was worth a try.)

 

So here he is, a random place on earth. It would probably be best to just grab the first soul he sees, but he's already passed up a few people on this dusty road. One was a man on a horse. The horse had glared at Yuta, spit dripping from its nasty black lips. Not that he was scared, but he wasn't going anywhere near that. 

 

Then there had been a sweet little old lady tottering along, and Yuta may be a demon, but he could just couldn't do that. 

 

It's already more interesting up here then it is down in hell. He spots a chattering chipmunk, and then an apple tree standing off the road. He climbs it and picks an apple, biting into it and looking over the view. 

 

A deer and its children picks its way through the trees a small distance away. Something strikes his heart, an indescribable feeling. This..this is so much better than hell. He longs for a life he doesn’t have. Maybe he would be a human farmer here, growing vegetables or something like that. 

 

It would be nice. But everyone wants what they can't have, right? Yuta climbs down the tree and continues his wandering. Maybe he should just teleport to somewhere else; there don't seem to be many people here.  

 

As he walks along he hears something. He wiggles a finger in his ear to make sure he's not imagining it but no, that's music he hears. Not normal music like he’s heard before, it's entrancing like a pied piper song. He has to find where it's coming from. 

 

Yuta picks his way through the trees until a clearing comes into sight. He hides behind an oak tree and peers into the space. There's a human boy there, fiddle fitted against his shoulder and playing away, eyes closed and swaying to the music. 

 

Yuta doesn't know what's more beautiful, the music or the boy. There are a lot of beautiful things in hell, contrary to humans' ideas. The king of hell, for example. But nothing down there could compare to the pure joy enhancing this boy's features. 

 

Yuta mentally shakes himself. He's a demon, he's more powerful than any human, he's not intimidated. This boy will definitely go to heaven, he knows it. But if Yuta took his soul... He wants to see what kinds of other expressions this human can make. 

 

He's a demon, he can do anything a human can. Yuta smacks his chest in encouragement and strides out from the tree. "That's a nice fiddle you got there.” The boy's playing stops and his eyes fly open, jumping back. His eyes are even prettier than the rest of his face, even with the wariness in them. 

 

"Who are you?” he aks, and oh, his voice. 

 

"That's for me to know, and you to not know," Yuta says. 

 

The other boy narrows his eyes and puts his hand on his hip. "I know everyone around here. I've never seen you before." 

 

Fuck  it. "Ok, I'll tell you who I am." He lets his curling black horns and leathery tail phase back into existence, giving the human a toothy smile. "I'm a demon." 

 

The human steps backward, fear overtaking his features. He swallows and instinctively clutches his fiddle to his chest, and it gives Yuta an idea. "So I want your soul, but it's more fun with a little challenge. I'll make you a deal. I see you're a pretty good fiddler, but I bet I could beat you, human." 

 

The fear on the human’s expression washes away, and oh, he looks annoyed now. "My name’s not human, it’s Lee Taeyong." He's visibly bracing himself, but not backing up any more. "Who cares if you're a demon? I bet I can beat you and anything else from hell." 

 

Yuta's a bit startled, but come on, a human couldn't beat him, right? "Fine. If I win I get your soul. If you win I’ll give you a fiddle of gold to play on. Of course you're not getting that, because you’re not winning." 

 

Taeyong's chest puffs up more. "I'm the best fiddle player in the world, hellscum. Try your best." Now Yuta's getting seriously annoyed. Who does this insignificant human think he is, going up against a supernatural being? 

 

He waves his hand and concentrates, summons a fiddle from the depths of the nether realm. "Say goodbye to your soul," he says, and Taeyong snorts in derision. Yuta huffs and puts the bow to the strings, mustering all his supernatural talent.

 

Determination rushes through him and he gets into it, hands dancing across the strings. It's good, he thinks, smiling to himself. He's probably won already. But he opens his eyes and Taeyong is standing with his arms crossed, smiling. And it's not a nice smile either, a mocking one. 

 

Yuta plays furiously harder, anger running through the strings and powering it. He plays until his fingers cramp and he ends on a final note, taking the fiddle away from his shoulder and smiling triumphantly. "How about that?" 

 

The human scoffs and lifts his own instrument to his shoulder. "Just listen." He closes his eyes as he places the bow to the strings, brow furrowing in determination. He starts soft and drawn out, and Yuta purses his lips, determined to find faults in the mortal's playing. 

 

The intensity increases, and Taeyong gets lost in it, the music building in waves. There's so much emotion in it, the slow whine of the instrument building up to fast and exciting, and Taeyong weaves with the music, his figure swaying and spinning. 

 

It somehow tells an indescribable story, one of longing and successes, betrayals and sadness through the whine of the bow. And then the rhythm picks up again into a happy bouncing melody. A small smile of true joy spreads across Taeyong's face, and the joy of the song is hard won after the journey of music.

 

Yuta stands there, so spellstruck he needs to sit down. His eyes are watering from how potent this feeling is, longing for a life he's never had hitting him hard. Taeyong's song draws to a close, relishing the last note.  

 

Taeyong opens his eyes and meets Yuta's, triumph dancing in his gaze. He knows he's won, and Yuta knows too. He stands up, determined to not let the unshed tears drop from his face. Yuta waves his hand and summons the shape of a fiddle, the material solid gold but lighter than it should be. 

 

Yuta plucks the strings to make sure they work, the material shimmering in the hot Georgia air. He takes a step forward and offers it over. Taeyong looks a little surprised, like he didn't expect Yuta to come through. "You won, fair and square."  

 

Taeyong takes it and looks at him, a little lost. "Oh." 

 

Yuta smiles weakly and teleports himself back to hell. He lets the tears slip from his eyes and down his face, staring up at the black neverending void that is Hell’s sky.  He flops down against the molten rock floor, tail twitching. He can’t get that song or that face out of his head…

 

Ten's face looms over him and Yuta squeaks, scrambling up to his feet. The king of hell stares at him like he's a fascinating exhibit. "What in the world is going on? Nevermind, I don’t want to know. Did you at least get a soul?" 

 

Yuta laughs nervously. "No..." 

 

Ten sighs. "I like you, Yuta, you're entertaining. But keep fucking up and I'll obliterate you." Yuta freezes, but Ten just smiles and reaches up to pat his head before disappearing. The tension leaves his body and Yuta flops back against the ground.

**Author's Note:**

> i did kinda want to write a second part to this but i have too many other things to write, i might come back to this though!  
> [Twt](http://twitter.com/orca_mandaeru)


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